You know that song? The one you really liked the first time you heard it? And even the fifth or fifteenth? But now your skin crawls when you hear it? That’s me and Doodle.
In the last three months I have filled out at least a dozen Doodle polls for various meetings outside my organization. I complete these polls at work, where my two-monitor setup means I can review my Outlook calendar while scrolling through a Doodle poll with dozens of date and time options. I don’t like to inflict Doodle polls on our library admin because she has her hands full enough, including managing my real calendar.
I have largely given up on earmarking dates on my calendar for these polls, and I just wait for the inevitable scheduling conflicts that come up. Some of these polls have so many options I would have absolutely no time left on my calendar for work meetings, many of which need to be made on fairly short notice. Not only that, I gird my loins for the inevitable “we can’t find a date, we’re Doodling again” messages that mean once again, I’m going to spend 15 minutes checking my calendar against a Doodle poll.
I understand the allure of Doodle; when I first “met” Doodle, I was in love. At last, a way to pick meeting dates without long, painful email threads! But we’re now deep into the Tragedy of the Doodle Commons, with no relief in sight.
Here are some Doodle ideas–you may have your own to toss in.
First, when possible, before Doodling, I ask for blackout dates. That narrows the available date/time combos and helps reduce the “we gotta Doodle again” scenarios.
Second, if your poll requires more than a little right-scrolling, reconsider how many options you’re providing. A poll with 40 options might as well be asking me to block out April. And I can’t do that.
Third, I have taken exactly one poll where the pollster chose to suppress other people’s responses, and I hope to never see that again. There is a whole gaming side to Doodling in which early respondents get to drive the dates that are selected, and suppressing other’s responses eliminates that capability. Plus I want to know who has and hasn’t responded, and yes, I may further game things when I have that information.
Also, if you don’t have to Doodle, just say no.
Posted on this day, other years:
- American Airlines: Social Gurus Extraordinaire - 2012
- Thoroughly Modern Karen: A Response to Jeff Trzeciak - 2011
- VSTDPUs and Maslow's Hierarchy - 2010
- Twitterprose Lives Again - 2008
- Teaching, and turning 50 - 2007
- Firewire is my new best friend - 2006
- Google Grooves on Libraries - 2005
- Veterans' Educational Benefits - 2005
- My Blogroll - 2005
I try not to use the Doodle poll approach too often. When I do, I use no more than 4 options.
I ask people in advance if there are days/times that are impossible, including before and after normal work hours. Not taking even that simple thing for granted can save a lot of time going back and forth.
And, if the poll is for a conference call, I do everything in my power to be *certain* that the call is necessary and could not be replaced with a few emails.
My favorite is when faculty or staff use a Doodle Poll to schedule a meeting with other employees even though we have a university-wide Office 365 subscription. #headdesk
If you have an enterprise calendaring system that finds meeting times, use it. “But Prof. Smith doesn’t like to use XYZ Calendar” doesn’t cut it any more. And for heaven’s sake, enable the “if need be” option when you do set up a Doodle poll. There’s stuff I can move, but only if necessary.
Doodle within an enterprise system is an abomination. But I understand why people across institutions use it for meetings (for example, for the organization that rhymes with May Bell Day). It’s the misuse that gives me a sad.